Sports
Arsenal Gunners Signs Nigerian Young Gun
Refurbished in 2017 Hale End Training Academy, Arsenal‘s institute for its youth development programme has over the years become witness to the development and rise of a great many young gunners. The Academy responsible for turning them into fully fledged world level football players pays particular respect to Arsene Wenger’s approach and philosophy aimed at cultivating budding young talent to develop into globally recognised football stars.
The Frenchman and his unique philosophy became greatly responsible for progressing players like Jack Wilshere, Maitland-Niles, Kieran Gibbs, and Alex Iwobi until they made it into his top squad before his untimely exit. His legacy stuck & still lives on at the Gunners Academy since it has not stopped producing highly skilled players.
This brings us to a young Gunner student of football by the name of Folarin Balogun who just may prove himself as Hale End Academy’s very next star. The youth’s performance may have identified him as part of the set of top-rated players earmarked for a possible position in Arsenal’s first team squad sometime during the season.
The 17-year-old New York born Nigerian showed a definite propensity to become a prodigious goal-scorer able to strike form any attack position. Tipping the scales further in his favour is his Arsenal U17-18 track-record that reflects 28 goals scored during all competitive matches for the team, with 23 goals cracked in just 22 matches.
Players who consistently rack up these kind of statistics are certain to become a firm favourite amongst football fans, especially those who love placing a wager or two to back-up their support of their favourite players or teams at one of the top online bookmakers such as Silentbet, a dedicated sports betting affiliate that has detailed and informative bookmaker reviews.
Balogun’s meteoric rise could see him included in Unai Emery’s game plan for the upcoming season, and he may just have an excellent chance to impress the Spanish tactician since he is most likely slated to accompany the Gunners on their pre-season tour during the latter part of the year.
Despite his extraordinarily successful featuring in England’s U17 & 18 squads and admittedly being enormously proud of signing his first professional contract with Arsenal, he still remains eligible in future to play senior level football for either the USA or Nigeria.
At the time of signing his first contract, Folarin Balogun had been with the Arsenal since 2010, and in his own words, he expressed his desire to keep focussed & progressing to ensure his eventual inclusion in the first team.
During an interview, he revealed that he had become a more clinically proficient finisher and as a result racked up a tally of 22 goals in his last 23 matches. He went on stating he had invested a lot of work and time in training in an attempt to improve and acquire a variety of ways to finish, this he feels will make him ready, so when the opportunity arises, he has the correct solution and matching skillset to maximise his chances of achieving success.
The Kenya Football Federation (FKF) has launched an investigation into allegations that goalkeeper Patrick Matasi has been involved in match manipulation.
The 37-year-old, who plays for Kenyan Premier League club Kakamega Homeboyz, has won over 30 international caps.
His most recent appearance for the Harambee Stars came in October last year, in a qualifier for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
An undated video posted online appears to show Matasi agreeing a deal to influence the outcome of a league game.
“I have spoken to him. He was also shocked at what he was seeing in the video and he told me he doesn’t know about match-fixing,” Homeboyz owner Cleophas Shimanyula told Tidesports source .
The FKF said it would work with world governing body Fifa, the Confederation of African Football and other “relevant authorities” during its investigation.
“We reaffirm our zero-tolerance policy on match manipulation and are committed to safeguarding the credibility of our competitions,” a statement added.
“This investigation will adhere to FKF’s anti-match manipulation regulations and Fifa guidelines, ensuring a fair, transparent, and thorough process.
“The rights of the player and his club will be respected, and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings.”
Shimanyula backed Matasi, pointing to the fact the veteran has kept three clean sheets in as many games since joining the club a month ago.
“When we watched this video, we found that Matasi has not wronged the club,” he said.
“In a video there can misinterpretations and false narratives and we cannot trust everything.
“He will keep playing for us because there’s no wrongdoing on his part as far as we are concerned – unless there’s evidence or the FKF writes to us to say they are suspecting the player of some wrongdoing.
“He is innocent until proven guilty and then we will act.”
The FKF has called on anyone with credible information to assist its investigation, with any reports to be handled with strict confidentiality.
Shimanyula also challenged the Kenyan footballing community to provide evidence against Matasi.
“Kakamega Homeboyz is against any form of match manipulation,” he said.
Uefa has opened an investigation into allegations of indecent conduct by four Real Madrid players during their Champions League last-16 win against Atletico Madrid.
Antonio Rudiger, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr and Dani Ceballos allegedly made gestures towards the home fans after Real Madrid beat their city rivals on penalties to book their place in the quarter-finals.
TV pictures showed German defender Rudiger appearing to make a throat-slitting motion, apparently towards the crowd after the shootout victory, while Mbappe was shown seemingly making a crotch-grabbing gesture.
Spanish media said Atletico reported the actions to Uefa last week.
The players could be at risk of suspension but there is no guarantee the case will be heard before their quarter-final with Arsenal. The first leg for that tie is at Emirates Stadium on 8 April and the return leg a week later.
In a statement, Uefa said: “[An] ethics and disciplinary inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of indecent conduct” made by the four Real Madrid players.
“Further information regarding this matter will be made available in due course.”
The Premier League has announced it will have two transfer windows this summer to allow Manchester City and Chelsea to sign players before the Club World Cup.
The window will open between Sunday, 1 June and Tuesday, 10 June, then close for five days before running again from Monday, 16 June until Monday, 1 September.
This summer features the first expanded Fifa Club World Cup, which involves 32 teams and adopts the format of the regular World Cup of the past few years.
Chelsea and Manchester City are the Premier League teams in the tournament which takes place in the United States from Sunday, 15 June.
But the Premier League can only have 12 weeks of a summer window – hence the five-day break in order to run it until 1 September.
Fifa has allowed new players to be registered for the Club World Cup from 1-10 June, and again from 27 June-3 July for the knockout stage.
This is happening firstly, to bring order to the global registration system, world governing body Fifa only permits the transfer window in any individual country to be open for 16 weeks in any calendar year.
In Europe, precedent dictates four of those weeks are for the winter window, leaving 12 in the summer. In 2024, the Premier League transfer window opened on 14 June and closed on 30 August.